鄂A 12345
鄂 plates: Hubei, and what the letters mean
Facts checked
A plate beginning 鄂 was registered in Hubei, a province. The character is È, said roughly “uh”. 鄂 is taken from 鄂州 Èzhōu and behind it the ancient state of E; Wuchang was called Ezhou from the Sui dynasty on. Hubei means 'north of the lake' — north of Dongting Lake.
The letter after it is the office that issued the plate. 鄂A belongs to Wuhan, and 18 further letters are recorded below.
The colour of the plate is a separate fact from the characters: it says what kind of vehicle carries it, and the characters say nothing about it. The colour guide sets out what each of the 7 colours licenses.
Key facts
| Plate character | 鄂 “uh” |
|---|---|
| Place | Hubei |
| Kind | province |
| Capital | Wuhan |
| City letters | 19 |
| Why this character | 鄂 is taken from 鄂州 Èzhōu and behind it the ancient state of E; Wuchang was called Ezhou from the Sui dynasty on. Hubei means 'north of the lake' — north of Dongting Lake. |
The city letters
- 鄂A Wuhan
- 鄂B Huangshi
- 鄂C Shiyan
- 鄂D Jingzhou
- 鄂E Yichang
- 鄂F Xiangyang
- 鄂G Ezhou
- 鄂H Jingmen
- 鄂J Huanggang
- 鄂K Xiaogan
- 鄂L Xianning
- 鄂M Xiantao
- 鄂N Qianjiang
- 鄂O Hubei public security
- 鄂P Shennongjia Forestry District
- 鄂Q Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
- 鄂R Tianmen
- 鄂S Suizhou
- 鄂W Wuhan
| Prefix | Letter | City | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 鄂A | A | Wuhan | Hubei's letters follow the order in which each city last came under direct provincial administration. 鄂AX and 鄂AY are taxi blocks; 鄂AW and the ****W block serve provincial agencies. |
| 鄂B | B | Huangshi | |
| 鄂C | C | Shiyan | 鄂CT is the taxi block. |
| 鄂D | D | Jingzhou | Formerly the plate of Shashi city. 鄂D·DT0000–DT9999 are battery-electric taxis. |
| 鄂E | E | Yichang | |
| 鄂F | F | Xiangyang | |
| 鄂G | G | Ezhou | |
| 鄂H | H | Jingmen | |
| 鄂J | J | Huanggang | |
| 鄂K | K | Xiaogan | |
| 鄂L | L | Xianning | |
| 鄂M | M | Xiantao | Formerly the plate of Jingzhou Prefecture. |
| 鄂N | N | Qianjiang | Before 1994 the plate of Yunyang Prefecture, which merged into Shiyan that year. |
| 鄂O | O | Hubei public security | Nominally abolished in February 2014, but part of the 鄂O range is reported still in police use. |
| 鄂P | P | Shennongjia Forestry District | |
| 鄂Q | Q | Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture | |
| 鄂R | R | Tianmen | |
| 鄂S | S | Suizhou | |
| 鄂W | W | Wuhan | Supplementary series for Wuhan, opened 26 April 2022: the same city runs two letters because one letter's combinations ran short. |
Hubei plates: questions people ask
- What does 鄂 mean on a Chinese licence plate?
- 鄂 (È, "uh") is the abbreviation for Hubei. 鄂 is taken from 鄂州 Èzhōu and behind it the ancient state of E; Wuchang was called Ezhou from the Sui dynasty on. Hubei means 'north of the lake' — north of Dongting Lake.
- Which city is 鄂A?
- Wuhan. The letter A goes to the seat of government in almost every province, and the remaining letters were assigned to the other issuing offices.
- How many plate letters does Hubei use?
- 19 are recorded here, A to W. A retired or reassigned letter keeps its note in the table.
Related
Sources for Hubei
- Wikipedia (Chinese), 中华人民共和国民用机动车号牌 (Civil motor-vehicle registration plates of the People's Republic of China). Read . Carries the complete province-by-province table of issuing-office letters, with the retired and renumbered series footnoted to Chinese news and public-security sources. Used as a finding aid; wording here is our own.
- Wikipedia, Vehicle registration plates of China. Read . English list of prefixes; the article flags its own list as incomplete, so it is used here to cross-check the Chinese table rather than as the primary record.